Shawnee’s state run proves ‘It can be done’

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By Michael Cooper, Staff Writer Updated 1:06 AM Tuesday, December 13, 2011

SPRINGFIELD — After 39 years of Ohio High School Athletic Association state football finals, Clark County is still waiting to bring home its first state championship trophy.

The Shawnee High School football got closer than any other team in county history last weekend, falling to Youngstown Cardinal Mooney 21-14 in the Division III state championship game on Dec. 2.

“We had it in our grasp,” said Shawnee coach Rick Meeks.

The Braves learned one important lesson during the run to the title game: while the journey may be a long one, teams from Clark County can compete on the state’s biggest stage.

“It can be done,” Meeks said. “It should give you confidence that if you have a goal and stay focused, you can reach it. Teams around here can get there. We’ve proven it, and Central’s proven it.”

Clark County is one of 45 counties in the state to never win a state football title. Only two schools from Clark County — one public, Shawnee, and one private, Catholic Central — have advanced to the state title game.

From this point forward, Shawnee’s run will have an effect on not just on its program, but the rest of Clark County. It helps every player believe they can play in the state finals.

“It was able to inspire kids and motivate them to work hard so they can get there,” said Tecumseh football coach Kent Massie. “It speaks volumes of the Central Buckeye Conference, Clark County and Shawnee. We look at that as a (program) and say ‘Why can’t that be us?’”

Playoff points

The difference between football and every other sport is how teams qualify for the playoffs.

In the other OHSAA sports, every team participates in the statewide postseason.

In football, that’s not the case. The OHSAA uses a computer points system, which ranks teams based on wins and their opponents’ wins. Then, the top eight teams advance to a single-elimination tournament. Originally, 16 teams advanced to the playoffs, but the system was expanded to 32 teams in 1999.

The system means every game in the 10-week schedule is extremely important.

“It’s the only sport where every single game means something,” Massie said. “There’s a lot riding on that game. You can lose one game you should’ve won, and boom, you’re out of the playoffs.”

Since 1972, nine of the 11 area schools that field or have fielded football teams have advanced to the playoffs, including Shawnee, Tecumseh, Kenton Ridge, Catholic Central, Southeastern, Northeastern, Springfield, North and South. As a whole, the county has made 44 playoff appearances in 39 years.

“I always tell our kids, ‘Don’t take making the playoffs for granted,’ ” Massie said.

Even more difficult, however, is winning once you get to the playoffs.

Of those nine schools, six have advanced to the regional finals, but only two have been able to break through to the state semifinals (Catholic Central in 1991 and 2007, Shawnee in 2009).

“Years ago, people were just happy to get into the playoffs,” Massie said. “Now, all of a sudden, we’ve raised the bar with our standards. We want to go to the playoffs, and we want to win.”

To be one of six teams to win the state championship each season is hard to fathom, making what Shawnee achieved this season so impressive.

There are 717 football teams in Ohio. The Braves were one of two teams, out of 120 D-III programs in Ohio, to compete for a title on the final day of the season.

“Shawnee deserves to feel extremely special about their accomplishment,” said Catholic Central coach Steve DeWitt said. “It’s an enormous, enormous accomplishment.”

DeWitt said one of the things he’s grown to appreciate over the years is the amount of commitment it takes to get to the playoffs.

“A lot of things that happen today are so counter-cultural to that,” DeWitt said. “We live in an instant gratification, push-button society where we can communicate around the world in a matter of moments, and revolutions can be raised over the Internet. At the same time, you’re talking about this thing that’s elusive like the playoffs. It demands a concentrated, consistent effort.”

No magic

Meeks said there was no magic used in advancing to the state championship game. It was a process that begun nine years ago when he took over the program at his alma mater.

The Braves set new goals each season, beginning with having a winning season, then winning a league title and making the playoffs. This season, Shawnee set its sights on winning a regional championship, a goal they were able to attain.

“We didn’t get here overnight,” Meeks said. “It’s a thing that’s been building over time.”

One of the most important aspects of the program, outside of having a talented team and a supportive administration, Meeks said, is keeping a coaching staff in place for a long period of time.

“We’ve had the same offense and defense, pretty much, for the last nine years,” Meeks said. “We’ve had a good corps of guys who are telling the kids the same thing over and over and over again.”

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